Friday, October 14, 2011

According to Newsone, President Barack Obama said Friday he’s dispatching roughly 100 U.S.
troops to central Africa to help battle the Lord’s Resistance Army,
which the administration accuses of a campaign of murder, rape and
kidnapping children that spans two decades.
In a letter to Congress, Obama said the troops will act as advisers
in efforts to hunt down rebel leader Joseph Kony but will not engage in
combat except in self-defense.
The White House said the first troops arrived in Uganda on Wednesday.
Ultimately, they’ll also deploy in South Sudan, the Central African
Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Long considered one of Africa’s most brutal rebel groups, the Lord’s
Resistance Army began its attacks in Uganda more than 20 years ago but
has been pushing westward.
The administration and human rights groups say its atrocities have
left thousands dead and have put as many as 300,000 Africans to flight.
They have charged the group with seizing children to bolster its ranks
of soldiers and sometimes forcing them to become sex slaves.
Kony is wanted by the International Criminal Court under a 2005 warrant for crimes against humanity in his native Uganda.
Obama’s announcement came in low-key fashion — a letter to House
Speaker John Boehner in which he said the deployment “furthers U.S.
national security interests and foreign policy and will be a significant
contribution toward counter-LRA efforts in central Africa.”
The deployment drew support from Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., who has visited the region.
“I have witnessed firsthand the devastation caused by the LRA, and
this will help end Kony’s heinous acts that have created a human rights
crisis in Africa,” he said in a statement. “I have been fervently
involved in trying to prevent further abductions and murders of Ugandan
children, and today’s action offers hope that the end of the LRA is in
sight.”

But Obama’s letter stressed the limited nature of the deployment.

“Our forces will provide information, advice and assistance to select
partner nation forces,” it said. “Although the U.S. forces are
combat-equipped, they will … not themselves engage LRA forces unless
necessary for self-defense.”
State Department officials portrayed the deployment as part of a
larger strategy to combat the group that dates to the Bush
administration but also includes legislation passed by Congress this
year.
Victoria Nuland, a department spokeswoman, said the U.S. troops will
aid in “pursuing the LRA and seeking to bring top commanders to
justice.” The broader effort includes encouraging rebel fighters to
defect, disarm and return to their homes, she said.
The administration briefed human rights activists ahead of the announcement, and their officials were encouraged.
“These advisers can make a positive difference on the ground by
keeping civilians safe and improving military operations to apprehend
the LRA’s top commanders,” said Paul Ronan, director of the group
Advocacy at Resolve.